Civic Conversations – WFHB: Recent Episodes
Civic Conversations – WFHB
Civic Conversations is produced by WFHB in support of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County, a non-partisan organization. Civic Conversations is produced by Jim Allison, with help from WFHB News Director Kade Young and members of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County.
This month, the League of Women Voters-BMC, Civic Conversations talks to Steve Hinnefeld, author of the nationally recognized blog School Matters, which can be found at https://inschoolmatters.wordpress.com/. Steve is a longtime journalist and writer in Bloomington. In the podcast, Jim and Steve discuss how the school voucher program has evolved and its impact on Indiana’s public schools. Steve explains how vouchers work and how they have become universal due to last year’s legislative expansion of eligibility requirements. Governor Braun’s recent budget proposal removed all income restrictions from the voucher program. “Indiana is spending a lot of money on school vouchers that could be spent on public school funds,” said Hinnefeld. “Those funds could be a significant increase in funding for public schools.”
This month, Civic Conversations welcomes Indiana University’s Media School Professor Jim Kelly, to talk about his book, From AIDS to Population Health: How an American University and a Kenyan Medical School Transformed Health Care in East Africa. In the podcast, Kelly explained how the AMPATH-Academic Model for Providing Access to Healthcare was formed by Indiana University physicians interested in starting a program of sharing medical expertise between Kenya, Africa, and Indiana University during the AIDS crisis. In 2001, in response to the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic, the partners united their efforts to establish one of Africa’s largest, most comprehensive, and effective HIV/AIDS control systems. The consortium consists of nine members: Indiana University School of Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Providence Portland Medical Center, Purdue University, University of Utah School of Medicine, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, and University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. Today, in collaboration with the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the United States government, AMPATH is expanding its focus beyond HIV to address the pressing needs for primary healthcare, chronic disease care, and specialty care. Kelly has long been interested in the program and decided that he wanted to document the program in photographs and text.
This month, on LWVBMC’s Civic Conversations, we welcomed Erika Oliphant of the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office. During the podcast, Prosecutor Oliphant shared how her office determines what cases to prosecute, the role of the prosecutor, and how plea bargains impact what cases are brought to court. She also talked about the current research study on how racial and ethnic biases impact the cases brought to court. Her office works with the NAACP Monroe County Branch on this critical study.
For September, we welcome Ralf Shaw of the League of Women Voters Bloomington-Monroe County to discuss voting in the November general election. During the podcast, Ms. Shaw shares the basics of Indiana voting, including absentee and early voting requirements. She also talks about LWV US Vote411. Launched by the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF) in October 2006, VOTE411.org is a “one-stop-shop” for election-related information. It provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information on the following aspects of the election process:
- Absentee ballot information
- Ballot measure information (where applicable)
- Early voting options (where applicable)
- Election dates
- Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races
- General information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye
- ID requirements
- Polling place locations
- Registration deadlines
- Voter qualifications
- Voter registration forms
- Voting machines
It can be found at https://www.vote411.org/.
As a member of the Monroe County Vote Center Study Committee, Ms. Shaw shared information on vote centers and how they worked, saying that the idea of vote centers has been well received in the Bloomington community.
This month, LWV-BMC’s Civic Conversation is talking to Mark Fraley, the associate director of PACE, the Political and Civic Engagement Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University, and Pearl Vinnard, an IU PACE student, to speak on the Big Ten Voting Challenge.
Because young people vote in smaller numbers than typical voters, the Big Ten Voting Challenge was created to help foster increased participation by young adults in democratic engagement throughout the Big Ten. This is done by promoting voter registration, turnout, and nonpartisan education while assisting students in finding and using their voices as active, engaged citizens. According to Fraley, BTVC has helped increase voter turnout through nonpartisan voter education and registering students to vote.
One reason that younger people do not vote, says Vinnard, is that they often feel their voices do not matter. With the Big Ten Voting Challenge, students can help their universities increase their voting numbers through this unique competition.
Civic Conversations welcomed Dr. Marjorie Hersey, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Indiana University, this month. In the podcast, she discusses the impact of disinformation on elections and how it influences election politics. Hershey shares that the definition of disinformation, purposeful misinformation designed to influence elections, has grown in recent years and that election campaigns that use disinformation hope that with enough repetitiveness of the information, people will begin to believe disinformation over the truth.According to Hershey, the key action that voters can take is to look to the source of that information and disregard it if no source is provided. If a source is given, they should verify that source before taking it as truth. Sources to help with verifying information include PolitiFact, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Washington Post’s Fact Checker.
This month, Civic Conversations welcomes Professor Charles Geyh, a Distinguished Professor of Law at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. A widely recognized expert on judicial conduct, Proerfoess Geyh has served as a witness in a U.S. Senate impeachment trial, leading to dozens of media appearances on the subject. He is also the author of Who Is to Judge: Who is to Judge?: The Perennial Debate Over Whether to Elect or Appoint America’s Judges, a book on the paradox of an elected judiciary in a representative democracy.In the podcast, Professor Geyh discusses that paradox and shares that the state judicial branch is a mix of appointed and elected judges in Indiana. However, according to Professor Geyh, each state has a code of judicial ethics and a disciplinary process that works very well. The contrast is the Supreme Court of the United States, which recently “grudgingly” adopted a voluntary code of conduct. “I’m taking a wait-and-see approach to see if it works,” said Professor Geyh. A fan himself of judicial term limits for SCOTUS, Professor Geyh shared that 75% of the American public is also aa fan of term limits of the Supreme Court.
This month, the League of Women Voters of Bloomington Monroe County welcomes Karen Jepson-Innes, WonderLab executive director, and Kelly Debikey, their education director, to share with our audience the many exciting opportunities that WonderLab Museum of Science Health and Technology offers to Bloomington residents. The WonderLab was formed in 1995 by a small group of Bloomington citizens interested in the importance of science education within a community. The goal of the WonderLab was to teach and make science education fun while also creating a permanent museum that celebrates the importance of science exploration and discovery. Kelly and Karen shared the many exciting programs and exhibits, such as the Grape Vine, Animal Ambassadors, Science Sprout Program, and their Honeybee Colony that the WonderLab offers, saying that children are natural scientists and love to discover how our world works through science.
This month, we welcomed Dr. Michael Hicks, Distinguished Professor of Economics and Business Research and Director of Center Business Economic Research at Ball State University. His work has appeared not only in scholarly sources but also in such publications and media as Rolling Stone, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, NPR, and Fox Business News. Dr. Hicks joined us to discuss the impact of public schools on a community’s economic development.
In the podcast, Dr. Hicks discusses the impact of Indiana’s voucher program on school choice and public schools. According to Dr. Hicks, Indiana has spent approximately $80 million since 2019 on voucher programs and other charter schools. Indiana currently spends roughly $10,095 per student on public education, while the average amount in the US is $12,612 per pupil. In his research, Dr. Hicks has found that quality public schools contribute directly to a community’s economy. For instance, 30% of all home buyers consider the quality of public schools when buying a home; even a school’s test scores can contribute to home-buying decisions.
In December, we welcomed Anita Morgan, the author of We Are Fearless: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Indiana. Dr. Morgan is the senior lecturer emerita at IU’s School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI in Indianapolis. In the podcast, she shared the history behind the suffrage movement in Indiana and how it impacted Indiana women. She expounded on the role of African-American and Quaker women in Indiana and how they promoted the campaign. Finally, she discussed the part of the League of Women Voters in the suffrage movement.
This month on Civic Conversations, we are joined by Health Officer Dr. Clark Brittain and Board Member George Hegeman of the Monroe County Health Department Board. In our discussion, we discussed the Health Department’s role and numerous services. With the recent legislative allocations towards Indiana public health, Dr. Brittain talked about the amounts received and how that money would be spent in Monroe County through the Indiana Health First Initiative.https://wfhb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Public-Health-Podcast.mp3
In September’s Civic Conversation podcast, Canopy Bloomington’s Forestry Director Ava Hartman joins the podcast to talk about Bloomington’s tree canopy and its benefits to the Bloomington community. Among the many benefits, according to Hartman, are their ability to mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in tree tissue. Hartman also discussed the City of Bloomington’s 2019 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment and its findings. Currently, Bloomington has over 38% tree canopy with an attainable tree canopy of 61%.
This month, we welcome Grier Carson, Library Director of the Monroe County Public Library, to discuss the library as a civic institution. Carson talked to our host, Jim Allison, about the library’s role in a democracy and how it protects intellectual freedom and access to information for everyone without regard to their social status, gender, …
In July, President and CEO Michelle Gilchrist and COO Heather Robinson of the Bloomington Health Foundation joined LWV-BMC’s Civic Conversation to discuss their role in the Bloomington community and how the foundation works to address numerous health issues in the community. Bloomington Health Foundation started in the 1960s as the Bloomington Hospital Foundation under the …
This month, we welcomed Mary Morgan, director of housing security, with Heading Home, South Central Indiana. In the podcast, Mary and Jim discuss what housing looks like in Bloomington and Monroe County as it buttresses housing challenges in the US. Bloomington faces a shortage of single-family homes while also seeing a surge in rental properties being …
We welcomed Miriam Northcutt-Bohmert, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Indiana University, in May. Professor Northcutt-Bohmert shared information from her research on racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in our legal system. In the podcast, Professor Northcutt-Bohmert talked about how our jail system has become the default repository for those with mental illness and substance abuse. She shared how our Monroe County jails are coping with these issues and the various pretrial options and diversion available to those facing the correctional system. Finally, she provides her insight on the new Monroe County proposed jail.
This month our host, Jim Allison, talked to Julie Duhon and Haddie Katz, co-founders of the Tandem Community Birth Center and Postpartum House, which recently opened in Bloomington. Tandem is now offering to change that position by offering birthing services, but preconception support, and prenatal and post-natal care. It also provides gynecological services to all women of all ages. Lactation care is also provided. Together they talked about maternal health in Indiana and Bloomington. Indiana currently ranks 46th out of 50 for maternal health, and in Bloomington, only 20.6% of women receive adequate early prenatal care. One issue with Indiana, says Katz and Duhon, is the significant rural population that does not have this type of care and for whom the closure of rural hospitals has resulted in a lack of access to care. The lack of transportation too, says Katz is a major hurdle to maternal health care.
This month Civic Conversations welcomed Michael Lippert, a journalist with the Indiana Capital Chronicle, to discuss the 2022 American Health Rankings Report. In the podcast, Leppert talks to our host, Jim Allison, about where Indiana stands regarding public health in the United States. Overall, Indiana ranks 35th among all fifty-two states but ranks 45th in the nation for public health. In Indiana, we spend approximately $14 per person on public health. Leppert talks about how this ranking comes from a protracted line of policy failures and lack of long-term commitment to the public health of Indiana citizens, saying that failure in Indiana’s public health system is “not a weather event, but a climate event.”
In February 2023, Civic Conversations Podcast welcomed Marcia Veldman, the Indiana State Co-Coordinator for the Citizen’s Climate Lobby. In the podcast, Marcia shares the origin story of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, an organization with 450 US chapters and 150 international chapters. The Citizen’s Climate Lobby strongly advocates the carbon tax dividend. Because they don’t believe those dumping pollution into our environment should be able to do this for free, the carbon tax dividend, Veldman explained, are fees collected for the cost of burning fossil fuel, and the dividends are the fees collected and returned to Americans to spend as they see fit. When asked if Congress could create an effective carbon tax, Veldman said they should pursue it, but politically, they would not. In a recent conversation with Senator Todd Young, Veldman indicated that Young said a carbon tax would be necessary but politically not feasible. One resource that the Citizen Climate Lobby in Indiana depends on is the Purdue University Climate Change Research Center. Veldman said that they were an excellent resource for specific Indiana climate change information and that they work closely with them. Veldman is seeing some changes this last year, especially the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate change legislation to pass in recent years. She applauded Bloomington’s effort to address climate change but says it will be hard to address if state and national politicians don’t help.
Joining us for January 2023 is Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson. Dr. Wilson is the co-director of the Gender Center and Associate Professor of History and Political Science for the University of Indianapolis. She was also recently named one of the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under Forty. In this podcast, Dr. Wilson talks about the increasing number of women in the legislature in Indiana and nationally. In the podcast, she shares that political ladders and hierarchies are now changing.Once the experience in government of a candidate was an essential attribute for potential candidates. Today, it is no longer a driving force in how politicians are elected. As a result, we see more younger candidates, particularly women running for office. In addition, where politicians were once expected to climb the ladder through local, state, and national politics, an expectation that foreclosed candidacy for many women because of gender barriers has changed. Currently, approximately 28% of women are in the US Congress, even though about 51% of women make up the US population.
This month on Civic Conversations, we are joined by Kate Cruikshank, Political Papers Specialist for the University Archives at the Herman B. Wells Library. Kate joined us to talk about the 26th Amendment. The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 for all elections, state and federal. Kate shared that the amendment was created after a long debate about lowering the voting age in response to those men returning from World War II and carried through the Vietnam War. In addition, as his archival papers demonstrate, Kate shared how Indiana’s Senator Birch Bayh was instrumental in the passage of the 26th Amendment. Maintaining those political paper archives, says Kate, is one way to maintain the history of our democracy.
This month, LWV-BMC Civic Conversation Podcast host, Jim Allision, talked to Steve Hinnefeld about the impact on a community when local news sources die out. Mr. Hinnefeld has worked for over thirty years as a reporter and is a former reporter for the Herald Times. Approximately 2500 local, state, and national news sources have been …
For October 2022, Civic Conversations welcomed Maggie Sullivan of the Friends of Lake Monroe and Michelle Cohen of the Lake Monroe Water Fund. In the podcast, Maggie and Michelle share information about Lake Monroe, the water quality, and its impact on the Bloomington economy. Did you know that Lake Monroe produces Bloomington’s 15 million gallons per …
In the September 2022 Civic Conversation podcast, we welcomed Professor Shruti Rana, a professor at Indiana University’s Department of International Studies specializing in international law. She holds a degree from Columbia Law School, the London School of Economics and Politics, and UC Berkley. In the podcast, Professor Rana discusses the issues facing our immigration systems …
In this Civic Conversation podcast, LWV Brown County 2022 essay winner talks about voting and its importance.
Founder of the Bloomington Refugee Support Network, Diane Legomsky joins Civic Conversations to discuss the issue of refugee support in Bloomington and nationally. In the podcast, we talk to Diane about the mission of Bloomington Refugee Support Network and how it interacts with other refugee resettlement organizations like Exodus Refugee Immigration. Diana breaks down for our …
Welcome to the April edition of Civic Conversations – your monthly podcast collaboration between the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County and WFHB. In today’s episode, host Jim Allison speaks with Professor Ranjan Rohatgi who was a member of All IN for Democracy’s Citizens Redistricting Commission. Rohatgi is Assistant Professor in Mathematics …
Welcome to the March edition of Civic Conversations – a monthly podcast collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County . In today’s segment, host Jim Allison speaks with Lisa Marie Napoli, director of the Political and Civic Engagement or PACE, at Indiana University. Napoli also founded Voices for Democracy and …
Welcome to the November edition of Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. Our guest today is former U.S. Congressman Lee Hamilton, who represented Indiana’s 9th district from 1965-1999. Hamilton speaks with host Jim Allison on the current state of our democracy. On …
Welcome to the October edition of Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. In today’s podcast, host Jim Allison speaks with Simone Smith, the winning contestant in the League of Women Voters Brown County’s essay contest on redistricting, and Shari Frank, the president …
Welcome to the August edition of Civic Conversations – a monthly podcast collaboration between the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County and the WFHB Local News. Today’s topic is redistricting with guests Julia Vaughn of Common Cause and Sonia Leerkamp of Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission. Sonia Leerkamp serves on the board of …
Welcome to the July edition of Civic Conversations – a monthly podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. Our guest for this month is Jennifer Haan, lead volunteer for the Indiana Chapter of Moms Demand Action. In the podcast, we cover what Moms Demand does, permit-less carry, …
Welcome to the June edition of Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters in Bloomington-Monroe County. Today’s episode of Civic Conversations focuses on climate change. Host Jim Allison speaks with Melissa Widhalm, Operations Manager of the Purdue University Climate Change Research Center. Widhalm begins by talking about her …
Welcome to the latest edition of Civic Conversations – a monthly podcast collaboration between The League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County and WFHB. In today’s show, host Jim Allison speaks with James Madison, author of The Ku Klux Klan in the Heartland and history professor at Indiana University. The League of Women …
Welcome to the April edition of Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters. Our episode today revolves around tribalism. Our guest, Marjorie Hershey, professor of political science at Indiana University, walks through the issue of tribalism with our host, Jim Allison. According to her university bio, Professor Hershey’s …
We present the March Edition of Civic Conversations, a podcast collaboration with WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County. In today’s show, host Jim Allison speaks with Nicole Browne, Monroe County Clerk, about women in politics. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots, citizen-led organization that has fought since 1920 …
Welcome to the February edition of Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County and the WFHB Local News. Today’s guest is Susan Williams, Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law at the IU Mauer School of Law and Director for Center for Constitutional Democracy. Our topic is gender …
The League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County brings you the latest installment of its podcast on the WFHB Local News – Civic Conversations. Today’s episode revolves around disinformation and features our guest, Professor Betsi Grabe of the IU Media School. Professor Grabe says disinformation can be used as an umbrella term for false information, …
Welcome to the latest installment of Civic Conversations, a podcast brought to you in collaboration with the League of Women Voters Bloomington-Monroe County and WFHB. In today’s program, host Jim Allison speaks with Sheila Kennedy, Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI and former executive director of the Indiana chapter of …
We present this month’s edition of Civic Conversations – a podcast brought to you by the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County in collaboration with the WFHB Local News. Today’s episode focuses on a review of the 2020 election. You will hear host Jim Allison’s interview with Julia Vaughn, Policy Director for …
With Election Day only two weeks away – we present the latest edition of the League of Women Voters’ podcast – Civic Conversations. This month’s program focuses on elections. Host Jim Allison talks to Karen Wheeler, election supervisor for Monroe County Election Central. You can hear Civic Conversations every month on the WFHB Local News.
Welcome to the second installment of our podcast series from the League of Women Voters titled “Civic Conversations.” In today’s segment, host Jim Allison talks to guest George Hegeman, professor emeritus of microbiology at Indiana University. Hegeman is a long time advocate and member of the League of Women Voters Redistricting Committee. The topic today …
The League of Women Voters of Bloomington – Monroe County’s Ann Birch and George Hegeman talk about the fascinating history of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The push for women’s suffrage dates back to the Civil War, but by August 18, 1920, 35 states had the 19th Amendment, eight states had …
In this week’s episode, Betty Greenwell and Jim Allison talk about voting districts, representative districting, early voting. Prospective voters can visit indianavoters.in.gov to request an early voting application, or you can call or visit Election Central, in Bloomington. A Minute of Civics is produced by WFHB in support of the League of Women Voters of …
In this week’s episode, Ann Birch and George Hegeman talk about registering to vote, absentee voting and early voting. Prospective voters can visit indianavoters.in.gov to request an early voting application, or you can call or visit Election Central, in Bloomington. Absentee ballots must be received by October 29, for the November 6 election. Early voting …
In this episode of The Bicentennial Journal, Scott Emery, a volunteer with the Monroe County History Center Cemetery Committee, tells the story of the Blair Cemetery, in Van Buren Township. The cemetery consists of one headstone, that of one-year old Carlyle Blair, son of Marion and Hester Blair. Marion Blair was a well regarded artist …
In this week’s episode, Betty Greenwell and Jim Allison of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County, talk about the (lack of) restrictions on gerrymandering voting districts. Greenwell and Allison map out and how voters can change the political landscape. A Minute of Civics is produced by WFHB in support of the League of …
The Boston Gazette coined the term “gerrymandering,” in 1812, after then-Governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry. As League of Women Voter of Bloomington-Monroe County President Ann Birch explains, Gerry infamously signed a bill that redistricted the state, creating a political district map that was so curvy and complex that people said it looked like a giant salamander—a …